After Rachana* experienced sexual trauma and exploitation, she was rescued by local authorities and referred to Rapha’s Survivor Care campus. Rachana was in need of care and security, trauma therapy, educational support, and legal advocacy. After months of care at Rapha, Rachana began to thrive and excel in her journey of healing.

When Rapha International was founded over 20 years ago, our first Survivor Care campus in Battambang, Cambodia was called Rapha House. Rapha means “healing” in Hebrew, and it was the vision of our founders that healing would happen within those walls. Soon, it became evident that the work of Rapha would extend far beyond the walls of that house. Now, 20 years later, Rapha is a thriving, multi-faceted organization that provides high quality services within and well beyond our residential Survivor Care campuses. 

Bailey was referred to Rapha’s Hope and Healing Center after being placed in foster care. She was initially removed from her home because her mother’s addiction to prescription drugs prevented her from caring for and protecting Bailey. Soon after she arrived in foster care, she disclosed that a man who was a friend of her mother had sexually abused her on several occasions.

When Sandra was nine years old, her mother surrendered her at an orphanage in Port-au-Prince, Haiti because she couldn’t provide food or safe shelter for her daughter. Sandra’s mother loved her very much, but she believed that the Westerners at the orphanage could give Sandra a better future and made the painful choice to leave her in the orphanage’s care. 

Hathai’s family was very poor. She had six brothers and sisters. At fourteen, she was the second oldest and the oldest girl. Although they lacked access to many important resources, Hathai’s family was very close. They all worked hard together to make ends meet.

Rapha is an organization that speaks many languages. Many of Rapha’s staff members are bilingual and speak English in addition to their native language. Our staff in Battambang, Siem Reap, and Phnom Penh, Cambodia, speak the Khmer language, while our staff in Thailand speak Thai and/or Burmese. In Haiti, most of Rapha’s staff and clients speak both Haitian Creole and French.

May is mental health awareness month. One of Rapha’s goals is to empower survivors of trauma with resources for mental health. In Joplin, MO, where Rapha is headquartered, we provide mental health counseling and community education and support through the Hope and Healing Center, established in 2020.

The purpose of Rapha's Prevention program is to help strengthen families and communities and to promote the protection of children from exploitation and abuse.

The program equips Community Workers to offer education, training, and social support, facilitate activities at Rapha’s Kids Club Community Centers, and administer services to vulnerable families and children. It also provides resources for families (food, clothing, healthcare, and housing support) and education support for children (tuition, school supplies, and uniforms).

Human trafficking does not happen in a vacuum. It is deeply impacted by its context–the social, economic, political, and other circumstances in which it occurs. Conflicts, migrations, disasters, and other events influence the dynamics of human trafficking. Over the last few decades, the internet has made profound changes in the way human trafficking is perpetrated, investigated, and understood.

Dear Friends of Rapha -
Each December, I look forward to seeing all the social media photos of children posing with Santa. Some children run happily into his arms and smile with excitement, while others scream in justifiable outrage at being photographed with this overwhelming stranger!

It was early morning on a Tuesday in Cambodia. The chickens had been awake for a while. The streets were busy with Tuk Tuks and motorcycles. This was my first time visiting Rapha International in Cambodia after being on staff in the US for several years. On that morning, we were jumping in a van with three girls and several Rapha staff members. We were not heading to work or school; we were on our way to the city courthouse to advocate for these three young girls who had experienced sexual abuse and human trafficking.

Sustainable freedom is the ultimate goal for every child served by Rapha. What is sustainable freedom? How does every child served by Rapha receive sustainable freedom? Read Sanoh’s story to see how sustainable freedom can be found in the life of a young survivor.

Rapha is honored to have a seat at the table at the United Nations Ad Hoc Committee on Cybercrime. Rapha’s own Gerson Nozea, Haiti Country Director, has been working with this committee for the past year and a half and spent time in New York at the UN headquarters, advocating from a survivor-focused perspective with the goal of protecting the vulnerable from exploitation.

2023 is the 20th year of Rapha’s work with vulnerable and victimized children. In 2003, Rapha’s first Survivor Sare campus was established in Battambang, Cambodia. Since then, three more residential Survivor Care campuses, three Prevention Centers, and four community-based service centers have been established in Cambodia, Thailand, Haiti, and the United States. Over the last 20 years, thousands have been impacted by Rapha’s mission- to end the trafficking and sexual abuse of children- one child, one family, and one community at a time.

Rapha Thailand was recognized as the Outstanding Anti-Trafficking Organization of the Year by the Thai government! Pictured here, one of Rapha's Legal Officers, Po, accepted the award on behalf of Rapha Thailand. We are honored to receive this award and grateful for the dedication and hard work from our team in Thailand.

When Sira first arrived at Rapha’s Survivor Care Campus, she had felt cornered and alone. She didn’t believe anyone there had her best interest at heart because no one ever had. Sira made sure they all knew she wasn’t naive and wouldn’t “fall for their kindness.” Instead, she would look out for herself and her own interests. She had always done that and being at Rapha wasn’t going to change that. Sira was prepared to fight, but she wasn’t prepared for anyone to fight alongside her, to fight for her.

We are grateful that the newly released film, The Sound of Freedom, is sparking conversations about child sex trafficking. Rapha depends upon committed advocates all over the world to continue our work with child survivors and vulnerable communities. If you've seen the film and want to take action, this article provides some next steps!

Worldwide there are nearly 50 million people who are impacted by human trafficking on a yearly basis. Of those, 1 in 4 is a child. While awareness of the issue is rising, so is misinformation. Many have an idea that trafficking is associated with violence. However, in the vast majority of instances of child trafficking, the perpetrator knows the child and has won their trust through grooming

Running on the muddy, pothole-filled road, in a hurry to get home to watch her sister, an older man from her village drove by and offered to give Chan a ride. Relieved at the chance to get home sooner, Chan hopped in the man’s truck.

Healing is unquestionably a defining principle of Christian ministry, and healing with excellence should be a priority for the modern Church